Sarko at the helm

It says a lot about Nicolas Sarkozy8217;s confrontational style that even a decision as seemingly innocuous as lighting up the Eiffel Tower in blue, to celebrate the beginning of France8217;s six-month EU presidency, gave rise to a controversy in Paris. Whatever Sarkozy turns his attention to is guaranteed to heat up fast.

It served him well during his triumphant election campaign and it has helped unblock France8217;s notoriously hidebound society8230; Though the style of the 8220;hyper-president8221; has started grating in France, it still affords us some splendid spectacles, from Sarko8217;s speed divorcing, dating and remarrying, to his expletive-laden spat with a member of the public8230; But what will his erratic style mean for Europe? Sarko has already announced his aims, from lowering VAT on a number of areas including clean energy sources to a moratorium on European Central Bank interest-rate hikes8230; And then everything started going pear-shaped: the Irish 8220;No8221;; the Polish President8217;s refusal to ratify the Lisbon treaty; a gusty free-for-all with Peter Mandelson; a deadly shooting incident during a public army exercise; and finally, yet another of Sarko8217;s YouTube hits 8212; bootlegged footage showed him in manic form just before a television interview on Monday night, nearly blowing his top with the sound technician who hadn8217;t answered his greeting, then threatening 8220;changes8221; because he8217;d been met by a demonstration on the way to the studio. But consider: letting loose the Amazing Exploding President on Europe might be just what that ponderous machine needs8230; But no one in Paris would hazard a guess as to what will happen when Sarko the irresistible force meets the unmovable European object over the next six months.

Excerpted from a comment in 8216;The Daily Telegraph8217;